(May 26, 2025)Caroline Garcia, former top ten player played her last match at the French Open. The 31-year-old Frenchwoman announced on Friday that she would retire later this year.
Garcia lost in her first round match to No. 83 American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-4.
“I tried to fight until the end,” Garcia said. “Since the start of the season, I knew this would be my last Roland-Garros. I hesitated to say it out loud because I didn’t know how I’d handle the emotions…..and this week, the tears have come every single day.”
“It’s time to say goodbye,” Garcia had written in a social media post. “After 15 years competing at the highest level, and over 25 years devoting almost every second of my life to this sport, I feel ready to turn the page and open a new chapter.”
“First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming here and supporting me during this match, which has been filled with emotions. I tried to do my best with what I had, I fought until the very end and it was a huge pleasure to play in front of you today,” said Garcia, addressing the vocal Parisian crowd.
“Since the start of the year, I knew it would be my last season and my last Roland-Garros. I hesitated for a while before telling you because I didn’t know if I’d be able to deal with my emotions.
“I have to admit that I’ve been crying since the start of the year, but I always played with my emotions, the good ones, the bad ones, and often, the stress and the wish to do things too perfectly stopped me – especially here, in Roland-Garros.
“I always gave it all and dreamt of winning this singles tournament – unfortunately, I didn’t succeed. All these joys and the memories will stay with me forever and this first part of my life – tennis – made me who I am today.”
“I can come back. I can ask to have access. What am I going to miss? I’ll always miss the trophy, but that’s just the way it is. If I’m depressed one day, I’ll just come back and visit the locker room,” she said.
“This morning, you see all your career passing before you… This is something I used to dream about when I was younger. When I was at the top, I dreamed of winning a Grand Slam and Roland-Garros. But there were always stronger players than I was at that time.”
“It was such an emotional match,” said Pera, holding back the tears herself. “Back there (in the tunnel) we were both crying.
“Caroline is one of the nicest people on tour and I’m honored to get to know you, spend time with you and share the court with you. I wish you all the best in your next chapter with your fiancé.”
“I’m going to go to Queen’s (London), because it’s the first year that the girls will play, so it’s a motivation for me.” Said Garcia. “Then I would like to go to Wimbledon. Depends on my ranking, because I went down in my ranking. Depends if I have a wild card or not. And then US Open.”
Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 38, ranked at No. 166, will be retiring after the French Open. He kept his career alive for another round with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Terence Atmane.
Gasquet’s next round opponent will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner who won in straight sets on Monday.
“It’s amazing for me to be back on Centre Court, to be able to play here again, to have two days to prepare,” he said. “If it’s against Sinner, it’s bound to be difficult, but I know that with the support of the crowd, it’s going to be an extraordinary match.”
“It’s extraordinary for me that everyone is here,” he said. “My father is in Béziers but he probably watched the match. It could have been my last match, so I really wanted my friends from Béziers to be here as well as those from Paris. And they’ll be able to come back on Thursday.
“I’ll be able to come back and train at Roland-Garros tomorrow and that’s extraordinary.”
